It's Easter time! Everyone always wants to know what's the easiest way to make hard boiled eggs?
While I was searching for the best methods, I stumbled upon Kenji's Food Lab post: The Hard Truth About Boiled Eggs. He makes a statement that "there is no 100% foolproof method for peeling hardboiled eggs". Kenji suggests the best method for hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel is using a steamer. He also tested an oven method but he determined it was not reliable due to the variance in oven temperatures. Since not everyone owns a steamer I started thinking of how I could use the oven method, but wondered if we used a water bath method like when cooking cheesecakes instead of a moistened towel like Kenji used, would it work?
Ideas were swirling in my head, and I decided to use a muffin tin loaded with water to create the ideal condition for helping to ensure a slow and steady temperature. My journey of testing perfect baked eggs that are easy to peel began. During the process, I used 8 dozen store bought eggs, 1 dozen farm fresh eggs, and numerous baking attempts with varying temperatures and times. I can say that the oven method works! The eggs had great texture, both in the whites and yolks and they did peel easy.
The actual internal temperature of the eggs will vary about 5 degrees so it's important to cook a few extra eggs because some of them will tear due to the variance. We found it best to preheat your oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour to ensure optimum temperature. It is also important to pull your muffin pan up towards the front of the oven door within about 1 inch. The closer your pan is to the back of the oven, the higher the temperature in the last row of eggs.

Ingredients

12 tablespoons water

12 farm fresh eggs

(6 cups) water

(6 cups) ice

Instructions

Preheat over to 300 degrees and leave oven closed for at least 30 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of water per muffin cup.

Place one egg in each muffin cup.

Place the muffin pan in the center of the oven towards the front (about 1 inch away from the door).

Bake in preheated oven for 38 minutes. Do not open the oven. Eggs will have slight freckling.

While eggs are baking, prepare an ice bath by add 6 cups of water and ice to a large mixing bowl.

Remove eggs from oven and place in ice water bath for 10 minutes.

Drain eggs from ice bath.

To peel, gently tap eggs 3-5 times on cutting board. Apply gentle pressure with the palm of your hand and roll back and forth about 10-15 times to throughly crack egg all over.

Begin peeling at the end of the egg and the peel should easily slip off in large pieces.

Rinse eggs and blot dry with paper towel. Use in your favorite recipe.

Notes

Always test your oven temperature with an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is calibrated to the correct oven temperature as displayed.
If your eggs are older, cook for 30 minutes instead of 38 minutes.
Egg whites should be firm but not hard or rubbery and egg yolks should be soft, flaky and yellow without a green hue.
Eggs were tested with convection oven method and results were not as good as with a regular one.
For farmer's fresh eggs use the same method and steps above. The eggs tested were 48 hours old and they varied in color and size (some were more oval and some more oblong). The egg white temperature reached 190-193 degrees and the egg yolk temperature reached 192-195 degrees.